Ball State University Athletics
Play Suspended During Second Round of Auburn's Tiger Invitational
March 11, 2024 | Men's Golf
AUBURN, Ala. – The Ball State men's golf team sits in 15th place Monday evening after second-round play at the Tiger Invitational was suspended due to darkness. Hosted at the par-72, 7,519-yard Auburn University Club, the Cardinals started slow on the tough course that kept all 17 participating teams at least 10-over par in the opening round.
Ball State (312) shot +24 as a team in its first 18 holes, tied in 13th place with Toledo (312) and Lipscomb (312), 14 strokes behind Elon (298) and tournament host and No. 2-ranked Auburn (298) who tied for the early lead. The remaining 16 schools all shot 300 or above.
When play was suspended, Ball State golfers had completed between 14-15 holes in the second round. Play resumes Tuesday morning with a shotgun start at 9:15 a.m. Central Time.
Evidence of the difficult track was 18-hole scoring that flipped the Ball State lineup with No. 4 golfer Braxton Kuntz (76, +4) and No. 5 Alec Cesare (78, +6) topping the Cardinals' scoring. Playing in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, Carter Smith and Ali Khan were one stroke behind at 79 (+7), with Ball State's No. 1 golfer, Kash Bellar, firing 81 (+9).
"Today was a struggle from the start," said veteran Ball State coach Mike Fleck. "I saw several unforced mistakes and between the difficulty of the course and firmness of the greens, we could never really get anything going. Tomorrow is a new day with the goal of finishing round 2 strong and getting after it in the final round to chase up that leaderboard."
Ball State Individual Results, First Round
No. 4 Braxton Kuntz: 38-38—76 (+4, 26th)
No. 5 Alec Cesare: 38-40—78 (+6, 43rd)
No. 2 Carter Smith: 36-43—79 (+7, 54th)
No. 3 Ali Khan: 39-40—79 (+7, 54th)
No. 1 Kash Bellar: 39-42—81 (+9, 68th)
Ball State (312) shot +24 as a team in its first 18 holes, tied in 13th place with Toledo (312) and Lipscomb (312), 14 strokes behind Elon (298) and tournament host and No. 2-ranked Auburn (298) who tied for the early lead. The remaining 16 schools all shot 300 or above.
When play was suspended, Ball State golfers had completed between 14-15 holes in the second round. Play resumes Tuesday morning with a shotgun start at 9:15 a.m. Central Time.
Evidence of the difficult track was 18-hole scoring that flipped the Ball State lineup with No. 4 golfer Braxton Kuntz (76, +4) and No. 5 Alec Cesare (78, +6) topping the Cardinals' scoring. Playing in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, Carter Smith and Ali Khan were one stroke behind at 79 (+7), with Ball State's No. 1 golfer, Kash Bellar, firing 81 (+9).
"Today was a struggle from the start," said veteran Ball State coach Mike Fleck. "I saw several unforced mistakes and between the difficulty of the course and firmness of the greens, we could never really get anything going. Tomorrow is a new day with the goal of finishing round 2 strong and getting after it in the final round to chase up that leaderboard."
Ball State Individual Results, First Round
No. 4 Braxton Kuntz: 38-38—76 (+4, 26th)
No. 5 Alec Cesare: 38-40—78 (+6, 43rd)
No. 2 Carter Smith: 36-43—79 (+7, 54th)
No. 3 Ali Khan: 39-40—79 (+7, 54th)
No. 1 Kash Bellar: 39-42—81 (+9, 68th)
Players Mentioned
Sports Link // Cardinal Conversations with Carter Smith & Jeff Mitchell
Tuesday, March 17
Heart of the Cardinal Podcast // Guests: Mike Fleck and Alauna Simms
Monday, December 15
Heart of the Cardinal Podcast // Mike Fleck on Program Approach
Saturday, December 13
Sports Link: International Student Athlete Day
Monday, November 17